Electrically programmable fuses (or, e-fuses) are conventionally integrated into a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) as a link (or, strip) of conducting material (e.g. metal, poly-silicon, etc.) between respective terminal access pads. The resistance of the fuse is initially low, and commonly referred to as “closed” in circuit terminology. When a sufficiently large current (Ifuse) is applied between the first terminal and the second terminal, the metallic elements in the link are electrically migrated away or the link is thermally destroyed, thereby changing the resistance of the e-fuse to a much higher level, commonly referred to as “open” in circuit terminology. This technique is commonly referred to as programming the e-fuse. Determining whether the fuse has been programmed is conventionally performed using a separate sensing circuit.
In advanced technologies, for example, in 20 nanometer nodes and below, e-fuses are commonly formed using back-end-of-line (BEOL) or middle-of-line (MOL) thin metal films or via structures in a standard fin-shaped field effect transistor (FinFET) process flow. These conventional e-fuses utilize a salicide silicon (Si) material (also referred to as self-aligned silicide). This salicide Si is formed entirely of a silicon base material converted to a silicide using a precursor metal and an annealing step. However, this salicide Si requires a high current level to program (or, blow) the e-fuse.